Since You've Been Gone
by xmnmxox
Summary: NOT a songfic. Damon and Elena fell in love one summer when she was 16. He promised he would come back for her one day, but didn't come back until now. When he comes back though Damon doesn't tell Stefan about his past with Elena, at first. Season 1 AU


**AN: Just another story I needed to see if anyone was intereste in. Review and let me know what you think. :)**

Summary: Damon and a 16-year-old Elena fell in love one summer before she dated Matt. He told her everything about vampires but never mentioned Stefan. He promised he would come back for her one day, but didn't come back until now. When he comes back though Damon doesn't tell Stefan about his past with Elena, at first. It picks up in the grave yard with Elena writing. You may recognize some of the dialouge.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not even the title of the song.

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><p>Elena continued to write in her journal when she saw the bird from that same morning. She was confused but accepted its presence. "Okay, hi bird," she said calmly although internally she was reeling. Damon had a thing about birds and fog. She was pulled out of her thoughts when fog began to creep through the graveyard. Picking up her things Elena looked around and was startled by the cawing of the crow. She began to retreat into the woods and eventually broke out into a full sprint. Then clumsily Elena tripped over her own feet and fell.<p>

She stood up and brushed herself off. When she turned to leave though, she saw Stefan Salvatore standing near her.

"Were you just following me?"

A small smile formed on Stefan's face. "No, I saw you fall that's all. Are you okay?"

Elena nodded and composed herself. "Yeah, it's the fog. It's making me foggy, and there was this bird, and it got very Hitchcock. That's the bird movie right?"

He nodded and picked out a leaf from her hair. She blushed. "So what are you doing here? Hanging out in a cemetery isn't exactly the 'cool' thing to do."

"I'm visiting family," he answered.

Elena's face fell. "Oh I'm sorry. That was tactless. I have family here too; I know what it's like."

Stefan watched her carefully as she mentioned her parents. Her eyes reflected pain and held a few unshed tears. Then he began to smell it. His eyes narrowed in on her ankle, and saliva pooled in his mouth. "Did you hurt yourself?" he asked even though he already knew the answer.

Elena looked down. "Oh," she said and propped her foot up on a rock. "Wow, would you look at that? That is not pretty is it?" She glanced up at Stefan who was stepping back from her and looked away. "Are you okay?"

Stefan felt his teeth begin to slide out of his gums. "Fine, I'm fine. You should uh, take care of that," he stuttered and waited for her to turn back to her leg before running off at his vampire pace.

"Really, it's not a big deal," she said as she examined it again. She turned back to where he had been standing as was surprised that he was no longer standing there. "Okay?" she said to herself. _That was kind of weird. Quick appearance and quick disappearance, it was almost like …_ She stopped herself from thinking his name. She wasn't going there. It had been a while since she thought about him. It still hurt to think about him sometimes. Elena grabbed her bag and walked home for dinner.

After dinner Elena told Aunt Jenna she was going to meet Bonnie at the Grille. "I'll be back soon," she promised. She grabbed her keys and opened the door to find Stefan. She was surprised to see him but invited him to come to the Grille with her after he returned her diary. He accepted, and they went to the Grille. Everyone stared at them as they entered, and after Matt greeted them they sat down with Bonnie and Caroline.

"Are you going to the party at the falls Stefan?" Caroline asked eagerly.

Stefan shrugged and turned to Elena. "I guess I can go. When is it?"

"Oh good, it's tomorrow night. You should bring Elena. She hasn't been to a party like forever. She needs to make an appearance," Caroline said with the utmost sincerity in her voice.

Bonnie hid her laughter, and Elena rolled her eyes. "They have one every year at the beginning of the school."

Stefan shrugged. "I don't see why I couldn't come. I'll be there," he promised.

Caroline clapped her hands. "Oh good, Elena you have to come too. You missed too many parties this summer."

Elena only nodded. She was too busy looking at Stefan's ring. "Nice ring," she smiled. She had only ever seen one like it before in her life.

Stefan looked down at it and held back a laugh. "It's a family heirloom. It has the Salvatore family crest on it, and it's made out of a lapis lazuli."

"It's nice. I've never seen anything like it before," she lied. She had been thinking more about Damon lately since that afternoon. Before she could stop herself the question came out. "Do you have any siblings Stefan?" she blurted out interrupting his previous conversation with Caroline.

Stefan turned to her slightly surprised at her out burst but answered anyway. "I have an older brother, but he's not really worth talking about."

Elena nodded and pretended to check the time. "I should probably get home. I know Jenna didn't want me to be out for too long. I'll see you guys tomorrow." She stood up and grabbed her jacket. Stefan stood up with her.

"I'll take you home. Bye Bonnie, Caroline." He flashed a smile and turned to follow Elena.

"Bye Stefan. I hope I'll see you tomorrow at the party," Caroline added perkily.

Elena smiled at Caroline's antics and waved good-bye to Bonnie. Then she walked out of the Grille with Stefan following close behind.

"Your friends are really something. I've never met someone liked Caroline before," Stefan chuckled.

"I think that even if you live for over hundreds of years you'd never met someone like her before," Elena joked back, She made the comparison off handedly not realizing Stefan's face darken at the comment. He knew that Elena couldn't possible know about him yet. He forced himself to relax and focused on driving her home.

He pulled up into the driveway and got out of the car. He jogged to her side and opened the door for her.

Elena smiled at his gesture. "Thank you Mr. Salvatore," she smiled cheekily at him. She didn't notice Stefan's pause. Her words reminded him of the ones Katherine spoke to him so many years ago when they first met.

"Thank you for allowing me to hang out with you and your friends tonight. I had fun," he smiled ever so slightly.

Elena nodded. She was glad Stefan had a good time with her friends. She needed to ensure he wasn't a danger to her friends, but she was fairly certain he wouldn't. "Goodnight Stefan. I'll see you tomorrow in school." She gave him one last smile and walked inside.

"Hey Elena, did you have fun tonight?" Jenna asked as she walked up the stairs.

"I did," Elena said glad that the words didn't feel like a lie. She climbed up the stairs behind Jenna. "How was your night?"

"It was okay," she shrugged. They reached the top of the stairs and said their goodnights and parted ways. Elena grabbed her pajamas and walked directly into the bathroom. When she got out she saw a figure on her bed. Before she could scream though, he was in front of her.

"Boo," Damon smirked and pulled her into a passionate kiss.

**AN: Let me know if I should continue. I'm actually quite fond of this story line. Review. :)**


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